Rubbish. Complete rubbish. Why punish America’s model pro sports franchise because they did something in the best interests of their own success?

Len

It’s alot of $$$$ no doubt. But I’m sure Mr. Holt will pick up this silly tab and the Spurs will move on quietly and efficiently. My only question is, what will Pop do the next time he rests his starters?

#YourMoveCoach

MinnesotaSpur

So is the fine luxury tax deductible ala a 401K? Maybe we can afford more stars by resting our current stars? I would love to hear Pop be able to speak on this fine with additional reprocussions.

andy

i said it once, and i’ll say it again, TNT should pick up this fine. they received a fine game and plenty of attention, far beyond what they would’ve garnered with the stars (who no one outside of spurs fans, the very demographic that understands when they’re not, want to see) playing.

the hypocrisy is rank, and though i haven’t been a stern basher, even allowing for the insanity around the new orleans debacle, this is just rife with ego, and i’m glad he’s retiring. i’m perfectly aware of the economics behind his decision, and his push for a friendlier, star-driven league, but he’s a detriment to the game of basketball now. this is the latest in a line of questionable knee-jerk reactions, and i for one am fed up with the inconsistent, unthinking kowtowing to commercially packaging the game.

the idea that the league should dictate who should and shouldn’t play is ludicrous. it’s not the stars i pay to see (and i won’t even get into who qualifies as a “star” in this league). it’s my team. with player movement (especially away from small market teams like the spurs), it’s all the true fan has. take cleveland fans (sorry guys). the cavaliers are more than just lebron, and regardless of the decision, true cleveland fans (the ones driving those viewer ratings and purchasing tickets when stern allows for their stars to force their way out) aren’t going to quit on their team because lebron left. sure, i love seeing stars do things on the court i can only dream of, but not at the expense of seeing fundamentally sound, crisp passing, hard-nosed, synergistic, beautiful basketball. moreover, as a league, not to mention a team, the development of it’s players, both on and off the court, should be paramount. for every spurs player, there’s ten outside their program, from ndudi ebi to eddie griffin, that would’ve been better served with the role models, playing time, and development personnel the spurs afford its young players (wasn’t always the case, but kudos to pop for softening on rooks). take a look at the number of extremely gifted young men who wash out for no other reason than a lack of opportunity, and look at people like danny green, jeremy lin, and wesley matthews to see the merit of giving non-stars a chance.

mr. stern, you just set a dangerous, ill-advised precedent. even if you fine teams later this season for tanking and playing horrible, ugly basketball without their “stars”, shame on you. you should not be the headline.

Joseph

Are you “happy” hypothetical Heat fans that are outraged because Tim, Tony, and Manu didn’t show up to a November game? I feel immense sympathy for a fan base that has to endure an NBA game where Lebron James and Dwyane Wade are the only mega-superstars available for you to watch. I know it is a great pain for you to have to show up close to the end of halftime and realize your beloved rival Tim Duncan didn’t show up to the game. Also, I’m sure you are grateful that David Stern has your back during this great time of despair and I hope you will be consoled by the apology Stern graciously gave to you for the Spurs blatant tank job. I’m sure Miami ownership will give the same reverence that they gave Michael Jordan and will raise a banner with Stern’s name on it because of this grand gesture of solace. And to the Orlando sportswriter that blew a fuse because his team was thoroughly demolished by a full Spurs roster, I’m sure Coach Pop will personally express his complete sympathy towards your rational, lucid response to his actions. That is all for now.

Wow. Absolutely WOW. Thank you for pointing this piece out. Great read with resonating truth.

+10000

Pablo

Adolf Jozef Stern did it again. First, he accomodates the schedule to make sure Miami has the biggest chance to win. There are different ways to make business, right and wrong ways. Stern has chosen the wrong one, by creating biassed matchups in which one team (the one he prefers) starts with a big advantage (four days rest against six games in night days). If you pay to see a prime game between to powerhouses, wouldn’t you want them to be both at full strengh? What kind of show is Mr. Stern trying to sell us, Basketball fans? Shouldn’t he appoligize to us fans for digitating the schedules in order to give advantage to his favourite teams, while using the ones he dislikes as sacrificial lambs? Now he is infuriated with Pop because he didn’t allow his full plan to happen.Yes, the Heat won, but Spurs starters where mostly not there, so there will be not much merit behind this win. He won’t find as good an opportunity to feed a full Spurs team to the heat as tired until next season. We all know this is a bussines, I agree, but it is still a sport, and integrity is a non replaceable aspect of it. For that, you have to give both contenders the same opportunity. Let their talents play against each other and don’t pick.
I think thiese kind of things are already exceeding the league’s contexts and should start to call the attention of the Federal Government. Above everything, United States are not the Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Dictators should not be allowed